You can also search my sight or the web:

Academic/Professional:&nbsp&nbsp

In the summer of 2001 I finished my Ph.D. in particle physics
from Purdue University; though I performed my research stationed at
Cornell University's particle accelerator facility (see below). After a
temporary postdoc position, I accepted a job as a Research Analyst at The
CNA Corporation in November of 2001, moving to the Washington, D.C. area.

In June of 2004, CNA sent me on a much-desired field assignment (typically two to three years in duration)
at Eglin Air Force Base. The family and I moved to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, putting us much closer to
"home" (Mobile, AL).

At Eglin, I worked for a United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) organization known as the Joint
Combat Identification Evaluation Team (JCIET). In 2005, that organization merged with another to form the
Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team (JFIIT--pronounced "Jay-Fit"). With the disestablishment
of USJFCOM in 2011, JFIIT transitioned to become a new, leaner organization called the Joint Deployable
Analysis Team (JDAT), a division now under the Joint Staff J6's Deputy Director, Command, Control,
Communications, and Computers (DD C4),

While I thoroughly enjoyed working for CNAC, my family and I wanted to stay in the Fort Walton Beach area on
a more permanent basis. Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC) made me a generous offer
that allowed me to keep working at JFIIT doing the same kind of work, sitting at the same desk, but in a
long-term position. In October of 2005, I accepted their offer and became a Senior Systems Integration
Analyst for SAIC. In 2013, SAIC split into two companies with its national security, health, and
engineering expertise forming a new company named Leidos, for whom I currently work as a Lead Analyst
with JDAT.

On a Personal Note:&nbsp&nbsp

It is only fitting for me to note that in everything I do, I must first
consider myself a Christian. That is my underlying identity. In conjunction, I am (among other
things) a husband, a father, an American, and a physicist. For a very short bio, you can
read my personal vita.

Wife and Kids:&nbsp&nbsp

I'm married to a wonderful, beautiful woman, Tabitha L. Hinson, and on
September 29, 2000 we finally had our first child, a precious little girl we named Hannah
Louise Hinson. (Note: Hannah's web page is still limited to picture surrounding her birth... Maybe one
day I'll find the time to include a family album and update her pictures.)

On November 4, 2002 we were blessed with the birth of our second child, William Lee Hinson, who is named
after grandfathers on both sides of our family. My apologies for not even having a web page set up for him
yet, but you know how it goes.

Custom Writing

What is Leidos:

In 2013, Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC) split into two companies with its
national security, health, and engineering expertise forming a new company named Leidos.
As stated on our website:

For more than 40 years we have been tackling some of the biggest problems that face our nation and our
world.

A FORTUNE 500® company, we bring a mix of innovative technology and sector expertise to customers in
national security, engineering, and health.

Our approach is holistic, looking at all the interconnected complexities of a problem. Our brand of
science is collaborative, with knowledge shared across disciplines. And our focus is always on making
the real world better.

For me, Leidos (as SAIC) was the right company at the right place and at the right time. They offered me
just the position I needed when I needed it, for which I am very grateful. My fellow Leidos colleagues
working at JDAT (see below) are a dedicated, hard-working bunch and a pleasure to
work with. Specificallly, we work for Leidos's Technology Services company, which provides JDAT with the
majority of its contract work.

For more specific information about the Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT), check
out this JDAT information page.

What About Physics:

You may be asking why I'm working outside of the field of
particle physics (in which I received my Ph.D). First, let me note that I'm
very happy I chose to study in the field of High Energy
Physics. I wouldn't have had it any other way, and I'll
always be a physicist at heart! There are still some
interesting uncovered pieces to research in particle physics;
however, for reasons I won't get into here, the day-to-day
study of the field has lost a little something for me. I
can't help but think that the field is ripe for some major
unrealized discovery or some totally new way of looking at
things, but I can't hang my hat on wishful thinking. In the
end, I wanted to move on to something more part of the "real"
world.

SO, while I was offered a position that would have let me work at
both Fermi National Lab and CERN, I instead decided to accept a
position outside of the field where I felt I could have some
actual impact on the real world (not to mention providing a better
standard of living for my growing family).

Just to let you know, many people in particle physics do end up
leaving the field to work in a wide variety of jobs, from medical
imaging to financial analysis. The research you do in physics
provides you with a lot of skills and basic know-how, and many
companies have come to realize that physics Ph.D.'s have a
lot to offer.

Why a CNAC Section:

As I noted above, I enjoyed my time with CNAC, and since I noticed a few people coming to my sight after
specifically searching for CNAC information, I thought I'd leave in a section about it for anyone who is
interested. So, here ya go...

What is CNAC:

The CNA Corporation
(CNAC) is basically a government sponsored think-tank named for the larger of its two divisions, the
Center for Naval Analysis (its other division being the Institute for Public Research). The Center for
Naval Analysis is, specifically, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) that's been
providing the US Navy and Marine Corp with vital, independent, full-service research and analysis since
its creation in 1942. Through the Institute for Public Research, CNAC provides services for civil and
international clients outside of the corporation's military contracts.

For more specific information about what they do, check out CNAC's website.

Why work at CNAC:

CNAC offers a wide range of research opportunities and a stimulating work environment. In 2001 it was
chosen as one of the top 50 places to work in the Washington, D.C. region. Almost all the analysts CNAC
hires have advanced degrees, and two-thirds hold Ph.D.'s. Basically, they value people who can think and
reason through complicated research and analysis problems, and they provide a place where your work can
actually make a difference.

CNAC also believes strongly in the importance of field work. Most analysts at CNAC eventually take a
field billet where they are usually stationed at a Navy or Marine base four two to three years (or some
deploy with a carrier strike group for 6 months). CNAC's people are on Navy ships and with US Marines
during many operations they undertake.

I worked for CNAC for nearly four years. During that time I did interesting analytical work for the FAA,
the (then) INS, the Navy, and Joint Forces Command. In one exercise I spent several thrilling days on the
U.S.S. Nimitz nuclear aircraft carrier, and in another I took a flight in a Huey helicopter to survey
parts of the south-west border. The work itself was interesting and analytically challenging.

In short, I really loved my time at CNAC and recommend it for anyone qualified and interested in that line
of work.

General:

My area of study for my
Ph.D. was high energy physics (a.k.a. particle physics).
As written in my thesis: high energy physics is the field of
science dedicated to studying the most fundamental building
blocks of matter and their interactions. It is framed on
the postulate that all matter in the physical universe consists
of elementary particles, and that these particles can be
categorized according to their physical properties. By
deducing a relatively small number of particle types and
understanding the basic ways they interact with one another,
particle physics endeavors to produce an elementary framework
that describes the intricacy and scope of the physical universe
we experience.

An Adventure:

My research was possible
due to the work done at the Cornell Electron
Storage Ring (CESR--pronounced "Caesar"), a circular
electron/positron collider located on the campus of Cornell University. The
particle detector used to collect the data I worked with is known
as CLEO
(it's not an acronym, its short for Cleopatra--a suitable
companion for CESR). Check out their web sites for more
info.

My Thesis:

My thesis research
studied the decay of the tau lepton into three charged pions
(one type of quark-antiquark state--such states are
collectively called mesons) and a tau neutrino.

One of the most interesting aspects of the work was that it
allowed me to place a measured limit on the average mass of the
up and down quarks (those are the quarks that make up protons and
neutrons). These are the least-well measured of the quark masses,
and the measurement produced some interesting and somewhat
controversial results.

If you would like to reading over my thesis, I've made it
available in two different formats. Just click on a link
below (but be warned, it's somewhat long with about 275 pages in
total):

Publications:

Treknobabble or what?

No, this isn't a link to everything you wanted to know about the
technobabble on Star Trek. What I have done is taken bits of
what we know about physics today and applied it to some concepts
used in science fiction (mainly Star Trek). This is simply a
pastime that I delved into a few years back, and I provide a
link here for anyone interested.

The link and info:

to read more about its purpose, but I do want to mention one
thing here. One of the two documents you will find links to
there is almost a complete "What is Relativity--for the
lay-person" book (though its ultimate purpose is to discuss
faster than light travel with relativity in mind). I have gotten
many compliments concerning how easy it is to read and follow
(including a number of suggestions that I write a book on the
subject--since I have practically done so already), so I am quite
proud of it. :-)

What do you think?

I decided to try out a free service that lets you design a poll
for the web. I put this poll together concerning what people
think the proper roll of government should be in the
U.S.--just to see what sort of responses I might get from people
visiting my web page. Feel free to take the poll and/or make
comments on the results page.

A New Site:

Just as a trial for now, I've published a site to provide
iPhone-related reviews.

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the site is my
ItsMeMorphious video index. ItsMeMorphious is a YouTube
user who is known for some really great iPhone case
reviews. I've taken some of the videos I find most useful
and indexed them, noting pertinent points in the videos and
providing links to those specific times. Check it out.